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Paradorn seeks home win

Thailand’s number one men’s tennis player Paradorn Srichaphan has said he wants to win his home tournament more than a Grand Slam event as he competes at the Thailand Open in Bangkok this week.

28 Sep 2006 08:14 GMT

Paradorn Srichaphan at the Thailand Open in Bangkok

Paradorn, currently ranked 41 in the world, is the 8th seed in the tournament where he has reached the semi-finals on the past two occasions and is looking to live the dream by winning on his home court.

"It's been my dream to win in Thailand," said Paradorn.

"For me, to win here would be better than winning any grand slam event.

"For other players, it's the French, U.S. or Australian Open, but for me, it's here."

The success and publicity of the 27-year-old has made tennis one of the most popular sports in Thailand, and although he now spends most of his time away on the tennis circuit, he is still very proud of his Thai heritage.

Paradorn has been playing in a shirt with the words "Love King" written across the back this week, in reference to the celebrations of the Diamond Jubilee of Thailand's honored King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

"I have a lot of support when I play here and there's a great energy on this court.

"There are some big names here, but there's a good chance for me to win this time as I've made the semis twice before," he added.

In the latest results from Bangkok, 5th seed Jarkko Nieminen from Finland defeated Canadian Frank Dancevic 2-6, 7-6, 6-4 in the second round, while Britain's Tim Henman also took three sets to move through to the third round after beating compatriot Alex Bogdanovic 6-3, 5-7, 6-1.

Paradorn plays his second round match against Russian Mikhail Ledovskikh later on Thursday.